Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced today that as of this morning, there are now 651 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County. Additionally, there are now 797 people under mandatory quarantine and 38 people under precautionary quarantine. A total of 1,555 people have completed quarantine, and 323 of them who had tested positive for the virus have recovered. Overnight, there were sadly two additional deaths – two men, one in his 60’s with multiple underlying health issues and another in his 70’s. The death toll due to the Novel Coronavirus for the county now stands at 22. 

With 32 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 4.91%, down again from yesterday’s rate of 5.63%. Seven of those individuals are currently in Intensive Care Units (ICU). Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has had 18 residents in total who have tested positive, along with 7 employees in addition to one who has recovered and returned to work. Dr. Stephen Giordano, Director of the Albany County Department of Mental Health, joined the County Executive for the announcement to discuss county, regional and state resources that continue to be available for those who are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse issues during the pandemic. 

“To the two families who have lost loved ones overnight, my thoughts and prayers are with you during this impossible time. I encourage them and anyone else who are dealing with stress, anxiety or depression to utilize our Mental Health Support Line we established in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, because you are not alone in this,” said County Executive McCoy. 

“We’ve also seen spikes in overdose deaths in counties across New York State, and this is something that we are closely monitoring here in Albany County. That’s why I wanted to make sure that everyone knows that despite the pandemic, our programs and services are still available for those who may be in recovery or relapsing,” he continued. 

The County Department of Mental Health currently serves nearly 1,000 individuals with mental health issues and 2,500 people receiving help for drug and alcohol addictions. For those in need of assistance, they can call the Department of Mental Health at (518) 447-4537, the Capital Region Open Access Engagement Program at 1-866-930-4999, or the State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services at 1-877-8-HOPENY. The County Mental Health Support Line is available seven days a week from 8am to 8pm at (518) 269-6634. Anyone experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still call the Albany County Mobile Crisis Team at (518) 549–6500.

County Executive McCoy also highlighted the walk-up and mobile COVID-19 testing sites that he launched with the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center this week at locations across downtown Albany and in Watervliet. Testing is currently available at Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center at 920 Lark Drive in Albany, Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm. The rotating schedule and locations of the three mobile testing sites for the upcoming week beginning on Monday can be found below. All testing is done by appointment only and after being screened for symptoms over the phone by calling the Whitney Young, Jr. Health Center at 518-465-4771. Weekly schedules are posted on our website.

• Monday, April 20, 11:30am–3:30pm*
  *Alternate time due to South End Children’s Café Food Drive
  Capital South Campus, 20 Warren Street, Albany
• Tuesday, April 21, 9:00am–12noon
  Ezra Prentice Homes, 625 South Pearl Street, Albany
• Tuesday, April 21, 1:30–4:00pm
  Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Ave, Watervliet
• Wednesday, April 22, 12noon–4:00pm
  Capital South Campus, 20 Warren Street, Albany
• Thursday, April 23, 9:00am–12noon
  Bleecker Terrace Apartments, North Manning Boulevard, West Hill, Albany
• Thursday, April 23, 1:30–4:00pm
  Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Avenue, Watervliet
• Friday, April 24, 12noon–4:00pm 
  Capital South Campus, 20 Warren Street, Albany

The County Executive continues to offer online videos on coping, crafts and reading, AAU karate, exercise, proper use of personal protective equipment and more on the Albany County official website at the below link. 

Daily briefings are recorded and may be seen with slides on AlbanyCounty.com, the County’s Facebook page, public access channels—Open Stage Media in Schenectady and Channel Albany in the city of Albany and on Capitol OTB—Channel 1250 Spectrum and Channel 467 on Fios.

For all COVID-19 questions and concerns, including issues with price gouging and fraudulent products, residents are encouraged to use United Way’s 2-1-1 hotline as well as the State Department of Health’s hotline at 888-364-3065.